If they believed they wouldn’t make the same mistake twice, they were wrong about that, too.

The Lakers allowed an inferior opponent to hang around for far too long for the second consecutive game.

This time, they paid the price in the form of a 94-93 loss to thePhiladelphia 76 ers on Tuesday night at Staples Center.

They got away with it while rallying to defeat the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon.

But the 76ers’ Andre Iguodala swished a 3-pointer from 25 feet straightaway at the buzzer to make the Lakers losers Tuesday.

“Do I look concerned? No, I’m not concerned,” Kobe Bryant said.

“It’s a good lesson for us that I would rather learn now than down the road.”

In fact, the Lakers lost the game well before Iguodala accepted an inbounds pass, lined up the winning shot over Trevor Ariza and celebrated with his teammates as a sellout crowd of 18,997 shuffled toward the exits.

The Lakers raced to leads of 11-2 and 19-8 to start the game. Then they eased off the accelerator and never regained their rhythm or their momentum.

They erased an 86-80 deficit in the closing minutes, eventually taking a 93-91 lead on Bryant’s jump shot over Iguodala with 6.6 seconds remaining.

In their minds, it should have never to come down to the final, frantic seconds, however.

“I told the team, ‘We had to work real hard to lose that game,'” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “We found a way to lose it, though.”

Jackson also criticized the Lakers’ second unit for its lackluster play and hinted he might shuffle his rotation for Thursday’s game against the Golden State Warriors.

“We had a substantial lead and my first substitutions put them right back in the game,” Jackson said.

“They’re not coming out and playing aggressively in the substitution role. It’s become an issue now.

“Shooting-wise, it would be nice if they shot well. (But) it’s about the defensive end of the court and turnovers.

“It’s an ongoing problem. Our regular rotations aren’t working well right now.”

What’s more, the Lakers’ defeat coupled with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ victory over the Orlando Magic knocked the Lakers out of the overall league lead. The Lakers are 53-14 and the Cavaliers are 54-13. The third-place Boston Celtics are 50-18.

Bryant scored only 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting in a little less than 33 minutes. He was forced to the bench for extended minutes because of foul trouble in the second and third quarters. His season low is 10 points.

Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting, but had only 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting in the second half.

He also had 25 points in Sunday’s 107-100 victory over the Mavericks, but scored only fivepoints on 2-for-3 shooting after halftime.

Ariza added 16 points and Lamar Odom had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Ariza made a mental mistake in the closing seconds that led to the winning basket, however.

The Lakers had a foul to give, a fact Jackson pointed out to his players during a timeout called by the 76 ers after Bryant’s go-ahead basket.

Instead of reaching out and fouling Iguodala and halting his momentum, Ariza put his hands in his pockets.

“I don’t know if Trevor fully understood when I said (during the timeout) we had a foul to use because he didn’t use it,” Jackson said.

“When Iguodala handled the ball and took his time, that was the time to use it.”

The 76 ers stuck around far longer than expected.

The Lakers took a 73-62 lead into the fourth quarter after the teams were deadlocked at 50 at the half.

Bryant had only nine points in 21 minutes through threequarters because of fouls.

It seemed that the Lakers were poised to take control.

In fact, the 76 ers went on a 14-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to take an 86-80 lead after Donyell Marshall’s 3-pointer with 5:24 remaining.

The Lakers rallied one final time, taking the lead for the last time on Bryant’s 3-pointer.

Elliott Teaford covers the Anaheim Ducks for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. He covered the Ducks for 12 years, including the Stanley Cup season, for the Los Angeles Times and the Daily Breeze before returning to the beat in 2018 for SCNG. He also covered the Lakers for five seasons, including their back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and '10. He once made a jump shot over future Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton during a pickup game in 1980 at Cypress College.